1952 Houston Cougars football team
The 1952 Houston Cougars football team, also known as the Houston Cougars, Houston, or UH, represented the University of Houston in the 1952 college football season as a member of the NCAA. It was the 7th year of season play for Houston. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Clyde Lee. The team played its games off-campus at Rice Stadium, which had been built in 1950. The Cougars finished the season ranked as #19 by the Coaches Poll. It was the first time Houston finished a season as a nationally ranked team. Another first for the program was a conference championship, as the Cougars earned a perfect 3–0 record in Missouri Valley Conference play.
| 1952 Houston Cougars football | |
|---|---|
MVC champion | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 19 |
| Record | 8–2 (3–0 MVC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Split-T |
| Home stadium | Rice Stadium (70,000) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston $ | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Tulsa | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma A&M | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wichita | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Following the season, Houston defensive tackle J. D. Kimmel was voted as the program's first All-American. Kimmel had been drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1952 NFL Draft prior to the season's beginning, and would later be drafted into the Houston Cougars Hall of Honor in 1973. Four other Houston players were also taken in the 1952 NFL Draft.